Worldless - The audio team
We like to describe the Worldless soundtrack as an ambient, sometimes dark, and melancholic flux of sound. The soundtrack aims to elevate the atmosphere of each level and convey a particular mood or feeling to the player.
The Audio in Worldless is very important and the foundations of Worldless’ Audio have been a tight collaboration between Joel Roset (Game Director), Berlinist and BeGun (Music Producer from Barcelona), and Jaime Bermudez. With Jaime being responsible for the in-game sound effects and the integration of Wiise, the audio layer.
Concept - Floating above time and space
With the audio of Worldless, we’ve focused particularly on conveying emotion. Each area of the game is different and we found it incredibly important to match these with different emotions and feelings. Combining this with a minimalist approach and making the player feel like a particle in the universe has been the goal. In the end, we decided to compose music that was simultaneously static and flexible, epic and calm, electronic and organic.
It has been a huge challenge and came with an incredible amount of work but seeing the music come together and going through concept, initial score and finishing touches have been incredibly rewarding in our eyes, every track fits the needs of the area in-game perfectly.
The direction from Joel and his vision for Instrument choice & various sounds have been an integral part of this and made it a smooth experience, we could lean on his insights and ideas. When combined with our taste & personality we were able to give the Soundtrack the distinct Worldless flavour that we intended.
Shapes - Two sound environments colliding
The Worldless soundtrack has to provide a chill exploration of each part of its universe and we want it to boost the adrenaline for the player at certain moments. To achieve this we have divided the OST into two categories of tracks:
- Ambient tracks, related musically to the calmness of the cosmos, will appear stretched and have a slower tempo.
- Boss Tracks, require a specific sound to appear both intimidating and disruptive. Intimidating to the player but also disruptive to the stretched continuous time of each level.
It’s worth noting that bosses are what we usually call the explosions in-game, moments in which the player is hit by a wall of sound. Along with the boss battles we tried to convey a different musical narrative with each enemy. The boss tracks should match the appearance, moveset, and story background of each boss. It is something we found very important and we want you to experience this for yourself in-game.
Because the sound environments are completely different from each other, we shaped the soundtrack to be heard separately. We want you to experience the ambiances related to the peaceful moments of gameplay first and then the pieces connected to the more difficult moments.
Soundscape: sci-fi without the sci-fi touch
One thing that was apparent to us from day one was that Worldless’ soundscape should avoid the frenetic style expected from the sci-fi soundtrack of a combat game. During its platforming and exploration phases, we have decided to keep the tempo and soundscape low: no fast arpeggios, no square-waves, no fast rhythm/percussion (even during the encounters).
Instead of looking after synth waves or sharpened synthesizers, which could be perceived as a razor to the ear, we’ve researched a wider sound, that could be perceived as a breath, with simple and regular movements. We used the synth pad massively. In some tracks we also used organic sounds such as strings and pizzicato/percussion strings.
There are few exceptions, in some music tracks such as Opaque Heights (one of the game’s levels) we have used some bass-synth with a little distortion to convey a sense of bewilderment and desolation. We also used piano and strings (even pizzicatos) in some moments as percussion during the boss fights, particularly in The First Iteration and Plea for an End.
Focus on the player: avoiding emotional rollercoasters
It’s been important for us to make the soundscape not only to fill the Worldless universe but also to guide the player. We tried to design a soundtrack that could help (and not stress) the player in each phase. Bosses are the only exception in which we went full power. But…
…In the middle between bosses, there’s a lot more to explore and many encounters to fight. Worldless is a complex game, especially due to its innovative turn-based fighting system. To help the player we needed the tracks to aid the players during the combat encounters, encouraging them to try again and, most importantly, allowing them to focus on the SFX. These are crucial in combat and will help with the timings to parry or execute special attacks.
The final soundtrack: minimalism and maximalism
Composing the soundtrack to Worldless has been a fun challenge for us. We have wanted to compose something sci-fi, with a minimalistic and melancholic touch since we started playing Another World in our Amiga 500. So when we were proposed to score Worldless we were thrilled and our excitement grew as the scoring process went on.
We were able to use a lot of creative freedom while designing each track. We were able to develop and work on different ideas and then define and polish each of them with guidance from Joel, who helped us create a sound that could be described as a constant subtraction aimed to reduce everything to minimalism, but also - when necessary - expand it brutally to a sort of minimalistic maximalism
The scoring process involved several people with different perspectives for each track, resulting in a mix of personalities that was enriching for both the soundtrack and the people involved. Often a track evolved naturally and spontaneously from the sketch to the final production through a great collaboration of everyone involved.
A key factor in making the Worldless score a success has been the involvement throughout the whole game development process. This has been incredibly valuable and something we want to highlight. Often a musician works under tight deadlines & time restraints. In Worldless we had plenty of time to play and interpret the game, understand Joel’s vision, and translate it to the music score worthy of Worldless.
~ The Worldless Team
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1898500/Worldless/
